Connectivity of the reduced power graphs of finite simple groups (Q6184522)

Let \(G\) be a finite group. The directed power graph of \(G\) was first introduced by \textit{A. V. Kelarev} and \textit{S. J. Quinn} [Contrib. Gen. Algebra 12, 229--235 (2000; Zbl 0966.05040)]. It is a graph with vertex set \(G\) and two distinct vertices \(g,h \in G\) connected by an edge from \(g\) to \(h\) if and only if \(h\) is a power of \(g\). On the other hand, the undirected power graph of \(G\) is the same graph, but all edge directions are removed. The reduced power graph of \(G\) is obtained from the undirected power graph by deleting the identity element. \textit{N. Akbari} and \textit{A. R. Ashrafi} in [Quasigroups Relat. Syst. 23, No. 2, 165--173 (2015; Zbl 1345.20018)] conjectured that if a non-abelian finite simple group has a connected reduced power graph, then it must be an alternating group. In this paper, the author disproves this conjecture by providing a complete description of when the reduced power graphs of \(\mathrm{PGL}_{n}(\mathbb{F}_{q})\) are connected for all \(q\) and all \(n\geq 3\). He also provides upper \(q\) bounds on their diameters and in case of disconnection, a description of all connected components.